


Roses Are Red

by mukeclemmings



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, florist!ashton, florist!luke, tattoo artist!calum, tattoo artist!michael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 18:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2397683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukeclemmings/pseuds/mukeclemmings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton and Luke open a flower shop next door to a tattoo parlor, and relationships blossom (quite literally).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roses Are Red

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this](http://killer--ink.tumblr.com/post/98500585558/i-passed-a-flower-shop-next-to-a-tattoo-shop-and) on tumblr and I had to write it.  
> I'm the only one who has edited this, so I apologize for any mistakes!

Ashton had wanted to own a flower shop for his whole life. Luke had wanted to be a florist ever since Ashton taught him how to cut his first flower when he was only seven years old (much to Ashton’s mother’s dismay, when she came out to her garden and saw the two young boys destroying all of her hard work.) So, of course, Luke had been quick to agree when Ashton asked him to work for him when he was finally on his way to opening his own flower shop.

But, _this._ _This_ was not what Luke had been expecting. 

When Ashton had described his vision to Luke, Luke had pictured a bright, open shop on the corner of a busy Los Angeles street. He pictured people milling about with smiles on their faces, stopping to smell the greenery that spilled out of the shop.

_This,_ though, was nothing Luke ever could’ve dreamed of. Because it looked like it were straight out of a nightmare. 

They stood on the sidewalk in front of the small building that Ashton had just rented for the year. Luke could hear cars honking faintly, but other than that he was left with the sound of wind and people yelling somewhere in the distance. An empty plastic bag blew by in front of the two boys, other pieces of loose garbage littered the ground. The building’s white paint was chipping off, but there was nothing else that stood out about it. There were two small windows that faced the street, and they were covered by bars. _Bars_. Luke looked around and noticed the building to the right of it also had bars protecting the windows. It suited that building, though - black walls, darkness inside, a sign on the outside that said “Tattoos and Piercings.” _Sketchy_ was the only work coming to Luke’s mind as a description. He turned back to the flower shop.

“Okay, so, it needs some work. But, we could repaint it, put a big display out here full of flowers to draw attention,” Ashton said optimistically.

“I don’t think you want to draw attention in this neighborhood...”

“It’s a start, Lukey. Once we make a little bit of money we can move, but. This is the only place we can afford right now.”

Luke nodded with a sigh and tried to honor his agreement to help Ashton out.

-

The next few weeks flew by for Luke and Ashton. They were at the flower shop _every day_ trying to clean the place up. They’d repainted the outside with a fresh coat of white, and Ashton had got a sign made that said ‘Roses Are Red’ in a cutsey font (Luke had rolled his eyes at the cheesy name and begged Ashton to change it to something more punk rock, but eventually gave up because of the way Ashton’s face lit up every time he said the name.) 

They’d swept and scrubbed the floor, painted the interior walls a sunset orange, and they’d even managed to build a counter. The displays were purchased, tools organized, and now all that the boys were waiting for was the installation of the refrigerators. 

Ashton was hanging a sign in the window that was announcing the grand opening would be this weekend. Luke stood outside on the sidewalk to make sure it was straight. That’s when Luke heard a scoff coming from his right. He turned to find a man who had just crossed the street, now crossing the sidewalk. He was perfectly tanned, a shirt with the sleeves poorly cut off showcasing his muscular arms that were _covered_ in tattoos. The man had dark hair that was _just_ long enough to start curling the tiniest bit. His head was turned in Luke’s direction, but black sunglasses shaded his eyes. He smirked and turned away to enter the tattoo parlor. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Ashton says, walking out of the shop towards Luke.

“Let’s get this place open and make some money. We need to get out of here.”

-

Opening weekend is a bust. Ashton’s mom comes. Luke’s mom comes. That’s it. Then, just before closing, two men stroll in. One of them is the tanned boy with the dark hair that Luke had seen a few days prior, the one who went into the tattoo parlor. The other is pale, very pale, with lilac colored hair and a few piercings on his face. He’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but Luke’s willing to bet that underneath of it he has just as many tattoos as the dark-haired man beside him.

“I’m Michael, this is Calum,” the guy with the lilac hair says and motions to that dark-haired man. “We work at the tattoo studio next door. Figured my flower sketches could use some improvement. What’s a better prop than the real thing?”

“Oh! Yeah, let me show you some of my favorites,” Ashton grins and begins to walk through the shop with Michael.

This leaves Luke awkwardly standing behind the counter, shifting his weight between feet. _Calum_ leans up against the counter on the opposite side, looks over the shop with his raised eyebrows.

“Not exactly a prime location for a flower shop, huh?” Calum asks with a chuckle.

Luke’s terrified. He’s sure either one of these guys could strangle he or Ashton at any second. Or crack their skulls open or beat them until they are just on the verge of death. So he lets out a nervous, shaky laugh, hoping it appeases Calum.

“So, uh, you got a name?” Calum asks after a moment of awkward silence.

“Ye- um, yeah.”

Calum throws his arms up in the air. “I’m not deserving enough to know it, or something?”

“Oh. No. No. I- It’s- I’m Luke,” he chokes out.

Before Calum gets the chance to punch him (which Luke is totally sure Calum’s about to punch him), Ashton and Michael walk back up to the counter. Michael’s holding a bouquet of flowers - roses and daisies and lilies and tulips. 

“If I’m giving you all of this inspiration, I expect to be a business partner,” Ashton jokes.

“How about half-off of any tattoo you want,” Michael bargains.

“Okay,” Ashton agrees, eyes bright and hopeful.

Michael pays for the flowers and he and Calum leave.

Ashton turns to Luke and grabs his forearm. “I’ve got to get a tattoo.”

-

It’s been two weeks since opening day. Business has picked up, meaning they make, like, four small sales every day. But, Luke and Ashton are happy with what they’re doing.

Luke walks into the shop one morning to find Ashton practically bouncing up and down.

“Look! Look. Look what Michael did,” Ashton squeals and has the biggest smile on his face.

Luke walks over and Ashton turns his arm to reveal his wrist. On it, two drum sticks are inked into the skin, crossed to make an ‘X’.

Luke raises his eyebrows and laughs. 

Ashton pulls his arm back. “What? You don’t like it?”

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s just, _that’s_ what you chose for your first tattoo?”

“Michael thought it was a good idea,” Ashton pouts.

“Oh, so this is about _Michael_ ,” Luke accuses.

“No! Well, I mean, I’ve been thinking a little bit about a tattoo anyway...”

“Have a little crush, do you?” Luke grins.

“No! A little, maybe...”

The bell over the door chimes, signaling someone entering the shop. Both boys turn to look, seeing Calum slowly making his way into the store. Ashton turns his head back to Luke, a smile pulling at his lips. 

“Go ask him if he needs any help,” Ashton whispers and gives Luke a small push towards Calum.

Luke walks to where Calum is looking at some of the flowers in a display case.

“Uh, what are you looking for?” Luke asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I think Michael had the right idea about using your flowers to model our flower designs after.”

“Oh, okay. Um, I can make you up an assorted bouquet?”

“Yeah. Sounds great.”

Luke rushes towards the back of the shop, grabbing Ashton on the way and pulling him along.

“He wants an assorted bouquet,” Luke panics.

“Calm down. How many times have you done this?”

“Yeah. But. These flowers have to be the best.”

“Have a little crush, do you?” Ashton mocks.

“No!” Luke denies. “They could be put on someone’s skin _forever_ , that’s all.”

“Mhm. Okay.”

Ashton helps Luke assemble the arrangement and sends the blond out to present it to Calum.

“How does it look?” Luke asks as he hands it over to Calum.

“Perfect,” Calum smiles, causing Luke to blush. Then he tips the bouquet towards Luke in a ‘thanks’ and heads out of the shop.

Luke watches Calum leave, and _so what_ if he’s daydreaming a bit?

“Yep, no crush,” Ashton says, causing Luke to jump.

Luke grabs the nearest weapon - a rolled-up newspaper - and whacks Ashton with it.

-

Exactly a week later, the same two things happen. This time, Luke beats Ashton to the shop, but when Ashton comes in, he looks like he’s, well, _in love_. 

“Sleep well?” Luke asks.

“Yeah. I hung out with Michael last night. He gave me another tattoo, two actually, and then we got milkshakes and-”

“You got _two more_ tattoos?”

“Yeah!” Ashton is clearly excited. Ashton, who, a month ago, would have laughed in your face if you asked him if he’d ever get inked. 

Ashton runs towards Luke, pulling up his shirt to show Luke the anchor that was now on the right ribcage.

“Have you lost your _mind_?” Luke nearly shrieks. “Where’s the other one?”

Ashton’s cheek go pink. He starts to push down the top of his jeans so that Ashton can see the top of the rose tattoo that sits just shy of his left hip, low enough to be completely hidden by any pair of pants. 

“Jesus, Ash. That’s, like, practically a tramp stamp.”

Ashton grunts and starts to pout. “Michael thought it’d be hot.”

The door bell chimes and an older lady walks in. Ashton tugs his pants up and his shirt down, immediately greeting the women and helping her with an order.

Luke goes to the back to work on some pre-ordered arrangements, one for a funeral and another for a birthday.

Ashton peeks his head around the doorway and smiles at Luke. “Customer, for you.”

And, _what?_ They have not been open long enough to build up a client base, and the potential clients had been dealing mostly with Ashton, so who would request Luke?

_Oh_. Luke walks back into the front of the shop and Calum is waiting at the counter. He smiles sheepishly when he sees Luke coming towards him and Luke thinks that, _shit, this guy is really cute._

“What can I do for you?” Luke greets.

“I, um. I’m still working on those sketches and the last flowers, y’know, died. So.”

“Alright. Same as last time, then?” 

Calum nods and Luke heads to the back again to create the bouquet for him.

Luke laughs a bit to himself as he’s tying the stems together. When Luke had first met Calum, he’d been absolutely terrified of dark-haired tattooist. Now, however, Luke noticed that Calum had seemed a bit flustered talking to him.

As he and Calum exchanged flowers and money, though, Luke noted that apparently, Calum had composed himself.

“Good luck, with your sketches. I bet they’re wonderful, ” Luke said.

“Maybe you could stop by and take a look at them?” Calum offered.

“Maybe. Yeah, that’d be cool,” Luke replied, mentally scolding himself because _‘that’d be cool’?_ What an idiot.

 

 

When they close the shop that night, Ashton mentions that he’s going to see Michael who’s working a late shift tonight at the tattoo parlor.

“You should come, it’s really not as bad as it looks,” Ashton tells the blond. “I bet Calum will be there.”

And, well, Luke had (sort of?) told Calum that he’d come see his sketches. “Sure.”

They walk over together after locking the doors to the flower shop. As Ashton is reaching to open the door to the tattoo parlor, it pushes open. 

“Oh! Sorry,” Calum says, startled. He’s standing still in the doorway, holding the door open. He’s wearing a leather jacket and Luke wants to drool. 

“Hey, Calum,” Ashton chirps.

“Hey, Ashton,” Calum replies, but his eyes are on Luke. “Come to get something done?”

“Oh, um, no. I just came to see some of your work. But, I don’t want to keep you here if you’re leaving...”

“No! It’s fine, I’m happy to show you. Come on in.”

Calum leads Luke to a room in the back. They’ve lost Ashton along the way, but Luke hears a ‘ _hey, babe!’_ so he figures that he’s been found by Michael. 

So, he’s alone in a room with Calum. 

“Have a seat,” Calum motions towards the two chairs in the center of the room. He shrugs off his jacket before he grabs a stack of papers and sits in the chair opposite Luke.

Luke is amazed at Calum’s work. He points to an orange lily, “I love this one.”

“Just that one?”

“No, it’s just my favorite. They’re all _incredible_.”

“Thanks,” Calum blushes. 

“Who did your tattoos?” Luke asks, and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s reaching over Calum’s lap and running his fingers over the tattoos on Calum’s left arm.

“Michael did most of ‘em. He’s a lot better than me,” Calum laughs. “But I designed them. I have these, too.” Calum pulls down the collar of his shirt to reveal two more tattoos just below his collarbone, a feather on the right and a number in roman numerals on the left.

Luke looks up at Calum’s face, and realizes they are a lot closer now that Luke’s almost draped over his lap. Calum’s eyes are shining with happiness.

“What would you design for me?” Luke asks.

“I dunno. Don’t know enough about you yet.”

“Do you want to, like, go to dinner sometime, then?” And Luke can’t believe he’d actually managed to ask Calum on a date.

Calum smiles. “Yeah. How about now? Have you eaten?”

It’s almost eight o’clock at night now, but Luke would probably go anywhere with Calum right now, so he agrees.

They head to leave and Calum peeks in one of the other doorways in the tattoo parlor. Luke leans around him and sees Michael laying back in one of the tattoo chairs, Ashton in his lap, their lips locked. Calum chuckles and shakes his head. When they get into the front of the shop, there is a person standing in front of the counter.

“Mike, you’ve got a customer!” Calum shouts.

Michael’s response is muffled and angry, but Luke thinks he’s said something along the lines of “ _you deal with ‘em!”_

“Head on back, second doorway on the left,” Calum tells the waiting customer.

Luke leads Calum out to his car, and lets Calum pick where to eat. They end up in a dive bar, both ordering a bear and a burger with fries. It’s loud, because people are starting to come in for the night. Calum scoots in close to Luke so that they can hear each other better.

Halfway through the meal, Calum asks, “So, you want a tattoo?”

“No,” Luke shakes his head and laughs. “Never. I was just curious about what you’d design for me.”

“ _Never?_ Why not?”

“I don’t know...just, not my thing, I guess.”

They finish their meal and down a few more drinks. Luke finds out Calum plays the bass and loves puppies, and he tells Calum that he plays guitar and loves penguins. Then, there’s few _more_ drinks. Pretty soon, Luke is standing up on the barstool and Calum’s learned that Luke likes to sing because he’s belting the words to the Aerosmith song that’s playing loudly throughout the bar. He’s grinning down at Calum and he loses his balance. He ends up falling down right into Calum’s lap. He’s still grinning, though, but Calum’s not because he was _never supposed to fall for a florist_ and he’s starting to realize that he has. 

But, he’s drunk and Luke’s drunk and the only thing he can think to do now is yank Luke to his feet and drag him out of the bar. He shoves Luke into the back seat of the car and, yeah. Here they are, making out in the back of Luke’s car, in the middle of the busy bar’s parking lot. It doesn’t last too long, though. Luke starts giggling uncontrollably because, well, he’s never been anywhere near _this_ drunk before and he can’t help it. So, Calum reaches into Luke’s pocket to find the blond’s cell phone, tries to ignore the fact that Luke is seemingly _very_ turned on right now. 

He calls Ashton to get Luke’s address before getting out of the vehicle and helping Luke out. They walk over to the street and Calum hails a cab, getting Luke and himself inside and then passing along Luke’s address to the cabbie. He helps Luke inside his home, helps him get into bed. Luke’s whining and begging him to stay, but Calum has regained a bit of self-control and insists he needs to get back home. He leaves Luke with one last gentle kiss and then heads out to get himself back home.

-

Luke doesn’t see Calum again for a few days.

He’s had enough of not hearing from Calum, so he decides that he’s going to march over to the tattoo shop and demand to speak with the dark-haired boy. Ashton’s totally okay with Luke leaving the flower shop for a while, because he’s the biggest advocator of this potential relationship (“ _your couple name would be ‘Cake’, how great is that?_ ”). 

Luke marches over to the tattoo shop, a small bouquet of orange lilies in one hand, the other hand holding a love letter that Ashton had asked him to give to Michael.

Michael is leaning against the counter, chatting with a short woman who has just as many tattoos and Michael and Calum. Her shirt has lifted up in the back a little bit, leaving a section of skin on display between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her jeans. Luke can make out the top half of a butterfly, the other half hidden by her pants. Luke wonders if Calum has a tattoo like that.

“Luke! Hey! Cal’s in the back, I think he’s just sketching a bit,” Michael says cheerfully.

Luke hands him the letter and explains, “From Ash,” before he goes on back to find Calum.

He peeks inside of the first room to see if Calum’s in it, but he just finds a scary, bald man piercing a woman’s nose.

Inside the next room, Luke sees Calum sitting in one of the chairs in the center of the room, like where he’d sat with Luke a few days ago. He’s got a pad of paper and a pencil in hand and he looks like he’s deep in concentration. Luke approaches him quietly, trying not to disturb him.

When Luke gets close enough, he can make out what Calum is drawing. It’s a face, a smiling boy, dimples accentuating the pull of his cheeks. There’s a lip ring in the bottom lip. The eyes are the only portion that’s in color, blue, perfectly colored so they look almost _real_. Calum’s working on the hair, it’s pushing up in a quiff and Luke gasps. Luke has dimples and a lip ring and eyes that are this _exact_ color and _he_ wears his hair quiffed all the time.

Calum hears the gasp and jumps, immediately trying to hide the portrait. Calum looks at Luke with wide-eyes and Luke looks back, eyes just as huge, and they just look at each other like that for a moment.

Luke reaches out a hand. “Let me see it.”

Calum shakes his head, but Luke’s eyes don’t look upset, they look almost _fascinated_ , so Calum eventually, hesitantly, hands him the pad of paper. Luke examines the photo and it really looks _just like him_ and he’s so honored that Calum would spend his time sketching _Luke_ because Luke is nothing special.

Luke sets the paper down on the small table beside Calum and says with confidence, “I want a tattoo.”

“What?” Calum sputters.

“I want a tattoo,” Luke repeats.

“I thought you would _never_ get a tattoo?”

Luke shrugs.

“Um, okay. What...what do you want done?”

Luke looks around the room, trying to get ideas because he hadn’t come in wanting a tattoo, but he wanted Calum’s hands working on him _so badly_ right now. He looks down and realizes he’s still holding the orange lilies. He drops the flowers in Calum’s lap.

“One of these,” Luke announces. And it’s probably super girly but Luke doesn’t really care because orange lilies are kind of their _thing_.

“Where?”

“Uh...how about on my back? Like, just under my shoulder? Up here, maybe?” Luke pats the top left corner of his back, right underneath where his arm meets his shoulder. He situates himself in the empty chair in such a way that Calum can have easy access to his back. 

“O-okay,” Calum stutters quietly. He reaches for the bottom of Luke’s shirt and gently begins lifting it up the blond’s body. After the shirt has been removed, Calum places his hand flat against the middle of Luke’s back and drags it upward to the top corner of his back, where Luke had said he wanted the tattoo. Luke shivers, goosebumps covering his body. Calum gets up to sanitize the area and gather his supplies.

 

 

When Calum finishes the tattoo, he places a kiss on Luke’s back, just to the right of the orange lily. Luke’s finally understanding why Ashton now had _seven_ random tattoos, courtesy of Michael. 

Luke had been terrified and pained as soon as Calum began his work, but settled down a bit with every word from Calum’s mouth. He’d kept asking for reassurance from Luke, “ _Are you doing okay?” “Do you need a break?” “Are you sure you’re alright?”_ and when Luke insisted he was _fine_ , Calum would whisper quiet things like, “ _This is looking good.” “You’re doing great.”_ and he’d even let it slip once that, “ _Your shoulders are fuckin’ amazing.”_  

Calum’s in the middle of giving Luke instructions on how to take care of the tattoo but Luke’s not really listening, just watching Calum’s lips. He stops acting like he’s listening, as well, and interrupts with, “Can I kiss you again?”

Calum’s eyes go wide once more and he’s opening and closing his mouth like he wants to say something, but can’t get the words out.

So, Luke just slips a hand around Calum’s neck and leans in. He stops about an inch from Calum’s lips, waiting to make sure that there is so objection from the other boy. When there isn’t, Luke pressing his lips to Calum’s. Calum is quick to respond and before Luke knows what’s happening, they are full-on making out like they’d seen Michael and Ashton doing in this very tattoo parlor a few days prior.

“Oi, Luke!” Michael’s voice breaks them out of their liplock. “Ashton just called me. He says he _needs_ you back at the flower shop right now!”

Calum smiles as Luke curses and struggles to get his shirt back on before running out of the tattoo parlor.

“He didn’t pay!” Calum whines to Michael.

“I’m sure he’ll find a way to make it up to you,” Michael winks.

-

Business was picking up in the flower shop. They were getting new customers all the time, from soccer moms to tough, tattooed men that Michael had sent over. 

Every Tuesday, Michael came in and bought the biggest bouquet of roses from Luke, and then gifted them to Ashton.

“ _I own a flower shop, you idiot. I don’t want flowers!_ ” Ashton would say, but he was smiling and he’d always kiss Michael as a thank you.

Calum and Luke had been on a few more small dates - lunch at a little diner down the street, coffee at Starbucks, and once, Calum brought Luke a sandwich he’d made himself, which they ate in Calum’s car before they had to get back to work.

One Tuesday, though, when Michael comes in to carry out his routine with Ashton, he hands Luke a folded up note. Luke opens it to find the completed drawing of himself that Calum had been working on the night he’d got his first tattoo. It now has a little more color, his hair is blond and his face has some coloring in random areas. On the back of the paper, there is a yellow sticky note that has ‘ _dinner tonight?_ ’ scrawled in Calum’s small handwriting.

Luke makes up a bouquet of orange lilies and sends them back with Michael to give to Calum. He attaches a small piece of paper that reads ‘ _pick me up a 6_ :-)’.

 

 

Calum knocks on Luke’s door at 5:59 (no, Luke has definitely not been staring at the clock for the past 20 minutes). Calum’s wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt, a leather jacket topping it off. Although this is everyday attire for Calum, Luke can’t help but feel under dressed because Calum just looks _so good_. Calum takes Luke’s hand and leads him back out to his car, opening the door for the blond.

They drive a bit until Calum pulls up outside of a fancy restaurant (Luke knows this because he’s never been to a restaurant with valet before. Both boys kind of look like idiots - both in jeans as they walk to their table through the throngs of women in expensive dresses and men in suit jackets.

Luke looks over the menu and instead of choosing the food that sounds the most appetizing, Luke is going to order based on what is the _cheapest_ because it’s all so expensive and he knows Calum doesn’t have this kind of money. Calum can see him worrying though, so he yanks the menu out of Luke’s hands and orders the both the same thing, which Luke is sure is too pricey.

They are holding hands atop the table as they wait for their food and Luke’s slowly rubbing his thumb over the three letters on Calum’s hand between his thumb and pointer finger. They’re Calum’s mother’s initials, and it suddenly gives Luke and idea.

“Could you... Do you think you could give me my mom’s initials?” Luke asks a bit timidly. “After we eat, I mean.”

“Of course,” Calum agrees. “We could always get this to go.”

And then Calum is flagging down the waiter and asking for him to box up their meals when the food is ready. The waiter gives him a strange look because _no one does that in this restaurant_. But, Luke loves it. 

They go back to the tattoo parlor and Calum shows Luke some designs while they eat their food. Luke decides on one, and when they are finished with their dinner, Luke gets his second tattoo, this one on the inside of his wrist.

-

One night, after an intense lovemaking session, Calum is lying flat on his back with Luke curled into his side. Luke is slowly using his finger to draw random designs onto Calum’s bare torso and trace the ink patterns on his arm. Calum gently grasps Luke’s hand and brings it to his face. He places a kiss on Luke’s palm and gazes down at the tattoo on Luke’s wrist.

“I want to get a tattoo right here,” Calum says quietly. He points near the center of his chest, right above where his heart is.

“Of what?”

“Your initials.”

Luke laughs. “What if I get married and change my last name?”

Calum can’t hold back his smile. “Luke Hood is still ‘LH’.”

Luke blushes and tries to hide his face in Calum’s chest.

“Hey,” Calum rubs the back of Luke’s neck, trying to get him to look back up.

“Hmm?” 

Calum leans closer and presses his lips just under Luke’s ear. “Love you.”

Luke turns to reveal his face. He smiles and puckers his lips, silently asking for a kiss. Calum concedes and presses his lips to Luke’s.

“I love you, too.”

-

A tall man dressed in a nice suit comes into the flower shop one day. Luke greets him, and the man requests to speak with Ashton. Luke goes to retrieve his friend, and Ashton explains that the man is renting out a building downtown. They both go out to meet with the man and hearing him talk with Ashton, Luke decides that the building is perfect - perfect size, perfect location, perfect price. 

They haven’t closed on the deal yet, but Luke thinks that they will soon. Both Luke and Ashton are glowing with excitement when the man goes to leave the flower shop. He stops at the last minute, looking in one of the display cases. He pulls out some flowers and brings them up to Luke.

“I think I’ll take these too,” the man smiles.

Luke looks at his choice - a small arrangement of orange lilies.

Luke goes through with the sale as he should, but his face falls when the man finally does leave and he rushes to Ashton. Ashton’s still gleaming, but his face clouds with worry when he sees how Luke’s acting.

“We can’t move,” Luke states.

“Why not? You said this place sounded perfect.”

“What about Cal and Mikey?”

“Luke, nothing is going to change between you and Calum just because we move the shop.”

“We aren’t Roses Are Red without the tattoo parlor next door.”

So Ashton agrees that as long as the tattoo parlor is here, Roses Are Red will be here.

Ashton wants to commemorate by getting another tattoo. He asks Luke to get one too, but Luke insists that “it would take something drastic for me to get another tattoo.”

-

Luke gets his third and final tattoo on his wedding day. The ceremony is over and the reception party is in full swing. Calum’s tugging at his hand and whispering, “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

They scramble around looking for Ashton and Michael, finding their best men mid make-out in the bathroom.

The four hurry down to the tattoo parlor, and Michael unlocks the door. Michael had bought the shop a few weeks prior, and had closed it down today so that he could attend the Hood-Hemmings ceremony. 

Luke is the first to sit in the black chair. He lies his hand on the table beside him so that  Calum can easily do his work. At the base of Luke’s fourth finger, Calum inks the day’s date in black roman numerals (it was Cal’s idea). It doesn’t take very long, although it hurts a bit more than Luke’s last tattoo. However, Luke’s mostly just dreading what’s coming next.

“You ready? Just do like we practiced, okay?” Calum stands up to switch seats with Luke.

Michael does the prepwork on Calum’s finger and then hands Luke the tattoo machine. Luke’s shaking as the needle nears Calum’s finger. Since Calum’s right hand is free, he brings it to Luke’s for a moment to steady the blond. 

“Relax, Lukey. You’ll do fine.”

Luke takes a deep breath and begins to replicate the tattoo he’d just received, on Calum.

When the last mark is made, Michael jokes, “You may now kiss the groom.”

So, Calum grabs Luke’s face between his hands and pulls him into a searing kiss. 

Luke barely hears Michael whisper, “Can I talk to you?” to Ashton before he feels the other couple leave the room.

Calum pulls away and rests his forehead against Luke’s and takes a moment to look into his new husband’s eyes and take in all of the love that fills them.

Then, they hear a muffled, “Yes! Yes! Oh my- Yes!” It doesn’t _sound_ sexual, so Luke and Calum stand up, hand in hand, and go to find the source of the shouting.

They find Ashton and Michael in the front of the shop wrapped up in each other’s arms. Ashton is sobbing into Michael’s neck and it looks like Michael just might be crying too. Michael’s running one hand gently through Ashton’s curly hair, in the other hand there is a small velvet box and Luke wants to _squeal_ because he knows just what that box is made to hold.

“You gotta let me put it on, babe,” Michael says against Ashton’s cheek.

Ashton pulls back and tries to wipe some of his tears away with his right hand while Michael takes his left. Michael has opened the velvet box and is now slipping a silver band onto Ashton’s fourth finger. Michael kisses Ashton before Ashton turns to Luke.

“Luke! You have to be my best man!” 

Luke laughs because _of course he will be_ but he doesn’t get the opportunity to respond.

“Let the lovebirds go, Ash. They’ve got a honeymoon and a lot of sex waiting for them,” Michael says, wrapping his arms around Ashton’s waist and pulling the florist against his chest.

Calum reaches for Luke’s hand. They look at each other and smile, then they sprint for the door.

Luke’s laughing as Calum’s pulling him across the street to the car and he can’t help but think

_Thank God for Ashton starting a flower shop in a raggedy building next to a sketchy tattoo parlor._

**Author's Note:**

> I love this so much and I hope you did too!  
> Find me on [tumblr](http://notcashton.tumblr.com). :)


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